


a dead brother and a broken bond

by scrambledreg



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, LMAO, Non-Canonical Character Death, Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), uhhhhhhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrambledreg/pseuds/scrambledreg
Summary: Technoblade has always been a monologuer, and Tommy's always been his little brother.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit
Comments: 15
Kudos: 177





	a dead brother and a broken bond

**Author's Note:**

> Essempii = SMP

Techno was always such a monologuer. He’s been talking about Theseus for like ten minutes now, is he ever going to stop? Tommy swings his feet idly. When Dadza told him he was spending the day with Techno, he didn’t think it’d go like _this_. He was expecting some cool sword fights, or at least some potion brewing lessons. But no, today was the day Techno had to do all of his potato farming, and cooking. So now Tommy was stuck sitting on the counter, handing his brother whatever he asked for. At least he gets snacks.

“Did you catch any of that?” Techno tightens his ponytail. The brown dye he tried using to look more like Wilbur has started fading, and his roots are showing. _Like a chocolate covered strawberry_ , Tommy thinks. “Tommy?”

“What? No. Why isn’t your hair braided today?” He bites down on another carrot.

“Wilbur left with Dad, he didn’t have time to do it this morning. Hand me the pepper.”

“Can I do it?” Techno looks up in surprise, like he’s expecting a punchline.

“Heh? Tommy, you don’t know how to braid.”

“Then teach me, butthead!” He hops off the counter and tugs at Techno’s apron. “You’re done anyway, aren’t you?”

Techno sighs, placing the last tray of food into the furnace. “For now, yeah. I guess I can try to show you, but I’m not as good as Wil at it. Come on.” They walk into the living room, gathering some cushions around the fireplace. Techno folds his legs under himself, taking out the ponytail and brushing it with his fingers, while Tommy drops down next to him.

“Okay, so the first step is to part the hair into three sections,” Techno guides Tommy’s hands gently through his long hair, “then, you take the middle part, and go over one of the outside pieces. You keep doing that, back and forth, side to side, and that’s a braid.” It’s difficult to teach someone how to braid using your own hair, but Techno manages. Slowly, the two work through his hair, sometimes going back and fixing parts, but eventually they get to the end.“Not too bad, bud.”

“Yes! I did it!” Tommy pumps his fists in the air as Techno ties it off and pushes it off his shoulder. “Can we fight now?” Techno snorts, he knew Tommy wasn’t really that interested in the braid.

“Sure, go take the swords outside while I check on the potatoes.” Tommy jumps up and runs to the small armory down the hallway. “The fake swords, Tommy!” He groans from the other room.

Techno opens the back door and steps into the backyard. Really, it’s not fenced off at all, so it’s more of a field. Tommy’s holding a sword much too big for him, trying his best to hit a practice mannequin with any amount of force, but stumbles backwards every time. “Tommy, you know that’s not your sword, right?” Techno chuckles, grabbing the smaller one from the bench and offering it in exchange.

“Yeah, but I wanted to be a big man, like you and Wilby!” He takes the other sword anyway, running a couple steps and standing in a ready position. Techno feels a pang in his chest, knowing Tommy’s answer might change if he was actually in Techno’s shoes (or mind, rather), or ever around Wilbur on a bad day. “Big T!! Are we gonna fight or not?” Tommy’s voice snaps him out of it, and he stands with his knees bent, leaning forward. He hadn’t noticed until now, but Tommy’s smile resembles his own, even if it was missing the tusk that forced it into a snarl.

“Give it your best shot!” Tommy runs forwards, yelling with a sword pointed straight at Techno’s chest. He sidesteps, taking his own sword and pushing Tommy’s up, a basic deflection. Tommy turns, pauses, and runs again. This time, as Techno starts to step, Tommy sticks his sword out, poking Techno in the ribs as he starts to pass. Though, with as much focus that went into the move, Tommy seems to have forgotten other aspects of fighting. Like steps. His foot catches on Techno’s, so far unmoved, and sends him tumbling to the ground. Techno turns quickly, unsure of what to do without Phil or Wilbur there. _What if Tommy is actually hurt? What if it’s his fault? He wouldn’t ever want to hurt Tommy, he’s just a little kid-_

Tommy jumps up from the gravelly dirt. “That was fun! Can we do it again?” He grabs his sword and starts running towards Techno again, his bloody knees and scraped face not even registering in his mind.

“Tommy, you’re bleeding. You need a bandage.” He stops close enough to hold his sword up to Techno’s chin. Techno pushes it away gently.

“Nah, I’m a big man! I can take it!” Tommy isn’t wrong, he’s definitely faced worse injuries before. But he’s so small, and they’re all alone, and Techno doesn’t know what he would do if he got even more hurt, so he drops his sword. 

“I’ll let you pick the color. Besides, I have to check on the potatoes.”

“Okay! I’ll race you inside!” Techno watches as Tommy runs to the house, so small and so full of energy. He thinks of the future, when Tommy might actually last more than two seconds in a fight. Of course, he’ll never defeat Techno, but they’ll never need to fight anyway.

~~

Techno was always such a monologuer. As much as he hates to admit it, Tommy missed his big brother’s long winded explanations of, well, whatever he was talking about. Even if Tommy was never actually listening to them, he found comfort in knowing Techno was comfortable enough to talk to him, and having something to distract from the fear and exhaustion constantly running in his head was nice. Now, he’s trying to stitch up some of his clothes while learning about the best potato farming techniques. He’s not entirely sure where the obsession with them came from, but he knew it only grew stronger when Techno left their home, he still has the letters about competitions and days spent on a farm. It’s nice to hear him again, especially since the other option is helping Wilbur prepare Pogtopia for war. 

Like he was summoned, Tommy hears his brother walking down the ravine, discussing strategy with someone, he couldn’t tell. The door to the farm slams open, Techno looking up in surprise and Tommy dropping the fabric he was working on. Wilbur’s standing in the doorframe, smiling.

“Tommy, Techno! My two favorite brothers. Farm’s looking great. Tommy, did you get the gunpowder I asked for?” Wilbur looks at him, and he realizes that the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and he seems more on edge than usual (which is saying something, living in a ravine because you got exiled from a country you created isn’t very relaxing).

Tommy feels his shoulders tense, and looks down at his hands, still dirty from fighting creepers all night. “Yeah, it’s in one of the chests. Listen, Wilby, I still don’t think-”

“Perfect! Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Stay sharp you two, the day is drawing near!” He walks out, closing the door just as loudly. Tommy relaxes, and intends to get back to his jacket, but looks up as he feels Techno staring at him, with a weird look on his face.

“What do you want, dickhead?” Tommy winces to himself, he should probably be nicer to the person he had to beg to join the Essempii. Techno sighs, and moves to put his farming tools away.

“I was gonna go hunting, but I need to brew some stuff first. Can you rebraid my hair while I make the pots?” He looks over at Tommy, whose eyebrows are scrunched together, but gathers his things and stands up anyway.

“I guess, but it might turn out shit. I haven’t done it since,” he pauses, reminded of all the days he spent alone, after Techno left, after even Wilbur left, and the first days of the Essempii when he only had Tubbo. “In a while.” They walk out of the farm quietly, into Techno’s bunk. He sets the brewing stand, and sits on the bed. Tommy undos the braid, softly pulling at tangles until it’s easier to work with, and separates it into three sections. His hands had been shaking earlier, but the easy rhythm puts him at ease.

“So, how’s Tubbo? He’s still our spy, isn’t he?” Tommy lets out a small chuckle.

“Yeah, he’s alright. I wish he didn’t have to be a spy though. Puts him in too much danger.”

“Didn’t he choose to be one?”

“Yeah, but it’s still not safe, and I can’t protect him now.” He tugs on Techno’s hair. “If you tell anyone this, Tech, I’ll kill you.”

“Okay, Tommy, whatever you say.” 

“I’m serious, Techno! Especially to Wilbur. I don’t want another lecture on how I can’t trust anyone or whatever. It’s bullshit anyway, I can trust Tubbo.” As he continues braiding, Techno grows quiet. He knew Wilbur was getting worse, but he didn’t think Tommy would’ve noticed. Of course he would though, Tommy was always so clingy, always pressed into one of their sides, it’d make sense that he’d been paying close attention to Wilbur this whole time. Tommy ties off the braid, just as the potions finish brewing.

Techno stands. “Thanks, Tommy. You know, you could always grow out your hair. You’d probably look a lot like Dad.” He reaches out to ruffle his hair. Tommy laughs.

“Maybe, maybe. Not during a rebellion though. It’d get in the way. Once this is all over, maybe. I’d look a lot better with it than you.”

“In your dreams, bud.” They share a laugh, a moment of respite interrupted by Wilbur calling for Tommy. He sighs.

“I gotta go. Duty calls and all that shit.” Techno watches as Tommy leaves the room, closing the door softly, preparing to talk to Wilbur. He wishes for a moment that they had never joined the Essempii. He’d only been here for a few weeks, but he’d already seen the damage done by the server, the government, on Tommy and Wilbur. _It’ll all be over soon anyway_ , he thinks, _then we’ll be okay again_.

~~

Techno was always such a monologuer. He’s standing over the crafting table, explaining the details for his to-do list. Tommy sits on top of the box, petting their dog with one hand and eating a golden apple with the other. As Techno drones on about how ownership works for bred dogs, Tommy speaks, a comfortable quiet.

“I wish I had a dog.” Techno looks up, but turns to the potion stand after a while.

“What do you mean? I’m literally telling you about the hound army we’ll make.” 

“Yeah but, I want an actual dog. Not a war hound. A dog that I can, I dunno, take on walks and shit. I’d name it Clementine.” He hears a snort from across the room.

“Well, after we take down L’manburg, you can have as many _actual_ dogs as you want, I guess.” Tommy lifts his head in alarm, stops petting the dog before him.

“Take down L’manburg? I never agreed to that.” Techno looks at him.

“Well, it’s next on the list, ‘minor terrorism’. Stop eating the Gapples, we have steak. And regular apples.” Tommy takes the last bite before chucking the apple at his brother, who catches it and throws it in a bin.

“Well, we can’t destroy it. It’s my home.”

“Didn’t they betray you like, two months ago? Not a very home-y thing for them to do.”

Tommy stands, indignant. “Tubbo had to! Dream forced his hand. We’re still friends. Besides, L’manburg is something Wilbur made, something _we_ made, I can’t just let it-”

“Tommy, you know how I feel about governments. Besides, if Tubbo was still your friend, you’d think he would’ve at least tried to visit you, right?” He looks at Tommy with concern. He hadn’t relayed _everything_ about his exile, but enough. He’d be surprised at how willing Tommy was to believe Tubbo was still his friend, but Tommy had always been very clingy, always quick to forgive. He reaches out for the boy’s shoulder, but drops his hand after seeing how tense it makes him.

“Technoblade, I know we’re just business partners, or whatever, but I don’t want to blow up L’manburg. We can defeat the government without destroying my home, can’t we?” _His loyalty is gonna be the death of him_ , Techno thinks. They’d both been betrayed so many times, how could Tommy just forgive so easily? Why couldn’t he do the same?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Techno replies, and before Tommy has the chance to point out that that isn’t an actual answer, says “Let’s get working on that hound army. We can figure out how to save Phil on the way there.” He strides out of the building, hearing a pause before the sound of footsteps catch up to him and fall into stride.

“Whatever, Big T. I’ll race you to the portal.” Tommy starts sprinting, and Techno watches as his cape, a gift from his second day at the base (Well, second day Techno _knew_ he was there. He wasn’t sure how long he had been hiding out in the basement), flutters in the wind, carefree. His hair had grown longer during exile and his time at the base, and he looked so much like Phil that Techno had mistaken the two, a mistake Tommy didn’t let him live down for weeks. Here, with the wind ripping through his hair and cape, he looked almost like he was flying. _He’ll be carefree again soon_ , Techno promises, to no one except himself.

~~

Techno was always such a monologuer. He stands now, a few blocks higher than Tommy, waxing about how governments will never work, how foolish Tommy was to side with them, how violence is the only universal language. If the rocket launcher wasn’t pointed at his face, Tommy might’ve rolled his eyes. But the speech is over, and by the looks of it, Tommy might be too.

A flash of movement catches his eye, something, _someone_ running towards him. The figure trips, hurting, delaying Techno by a moment as he sprints towards Tommy. It might be the dust in his eyes, but Tommy doesn’t recognize him until it’s much too late. He hears the crossbow release, hears the fireworks whistle towards them.

“Tubbo?”

The force of the rockets knocks them both back, Tommy’s head hitting the rubble. He’s pressed between stone and Tubbo’s unmoving body. He feels like dead weight. Tommy scrambles out from under him, checks his pulse and holds his head gently. It’s just like last time, but he’s not out of reach this time, no, he’s watching up close. He’s just as helpless, does being up close make it worse? Or better? Tubbo coughs. Tommy doesn’t care about last time.

“Tubbo? Tubbo come one stay with me man. We gotta- we’ll get you safe just stay with me.” Tommy’s crying now. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. How was it supposed to end? With them winning against the two most powerful people on the server? No, this wasn’t even supposed to happen in the first place. It should’ve ended a long time ago, with them running away just like they promised, with discs and bees and each other. “We’ll run away like we said we would, okay, you just have to stay with me Tubbo.”

“Tommy,” Tubbo slowly, painstakingly lifts his hand to his cheek, an ominous calm to Tommy’s shaking fingers. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to die arguing with you.”

“You’re not gonna- I don’t want to either. I’m sorry, Tubbo. I’m so sorry.” Tommy barely whispers, more tears than words, as he watches Tubbo’s eyes unfocus, all color lost. His best friend, gone. No more respawns. No more laughter. No more Tubbo.

He sits there for a while, just holding his best friend, rocking back and forth. TNT is still falling, swords still hitting, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing matters anymore. Tommy hears the debris shift, turns his head towards Techno, who’s moved closer from where he shot the rocket. Shot Tubbo. He removes his mask, another dead thing, likely killed by Techno himself (Tommy knows the story of the pig mask, but he’s too angry to remember it now). He starts to speak, but gets cut off.

“What. The _Fuck._ Technoblade.” Is all Tommy can choke out. Here he was, cradling the head of his best friend, his _chosen_ brother, who was dead because of the man standing in front of him. The man who helped save L’manburg the first time, the man who sheltered him when he escaped Logstedshire, the man who taught him how to sword fight when they were just kids. His brother, though that didn’t mean much now.

“Tommy, I didn’t mean for it to be like this.”

“Like what? Like a war? Like an unwinnable battle? How are you gonna explain this one, Techno? Were you peer pressured? Did someone tell you to do this? Let me guess, for the government to fall, Tubbo did too.”

“Tommy, you know how I feel about the government. Power corrupts. I didn’t mean for Tubbo to die, but he was a part of the system.”

“Bullshit! He was a fucking kid! _I’m_ a kid! You think this government was so fucking terrible that you had to kill a kid? Twice!” Tommy lets Tubbo’s head rest softly on the stone before standing, looking Technoblade in the eyes.

“The government had to end.”

“The government, maybe, but Tubbo? A kid? What the fuck did he do to deserve this?” In the two days they’d been separated, Techno realizes, Tommy’s cut his hair short again. Choppy, like he’d done it in a rush, or while crying.

“He would’ve been corrupted by power eventually.” Techno moves to put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, but doesn’t get close as Tommy flinches and hits it away.

“Corrupted? Tubbo? All he wanted was to help his people. To help his friends. You know what I think, Technoblade? I think you’ve been corrupted. Yeah, you’re just as bad as the government you hated so much.”

“That’s not how-”

“No. That’s exactly how it works. What do you think will happen now that the government is gone? Do you think everything will be fine, that everyone will work together and make fucking _flower crowns_ ? No! Everything will go back to how it was before L’manburg was made. Survival of the fittest, and who’s at the top of that food chain? You. And. Dream.” He accentuates each word with a finger pushing against Techno’s chest. “You blew an entire fucking chunk to bedrock because you didn’t like a government that ultimately left you alone, and you think that you haven’t been corrupted by power? I tried telling you that the government could be taken down _without_ destroying MY home, but you didn’t fucking listen! Because you were on a goddamn fucking power trip!”

“Left me alone- They executed me! _Tubbo_ put out an order to have me killed! To have Dad put on house arrest and watch as they crushed me with an anvil!” He gestures towards Phil’s house. Well, the ruins of Phil’s old house. 

“Because he had to! Because he was being told by everyone around him that that was best for L’manburg! Because he always wanted what was best for L’manburg! For his people! And you didn’t even die! You had a Totem of Undying, you survived because of-'' He can’t finish the sentence. He didn’t want to finish the sentence. He didn’t want to believe that his big brother would side not once, but _twice_ with the man that tortured him, that isolated him from everyone he ever loved, who took his armor and his tools and his hope. “You survived. He didn’t.”

“Tommy, listen, let’s go home, we can talk about this after we get some rest.” He steps forwards, reaching out a hand in invitation. Tommy glares at him, a mix of astonishment and disgust that looks nothing like the Tommy that asked Techno to teach him how to braid. 

“FUCK YOU! Fuck home! Nowhere could be considered home if you’re there. I’m not even sure anywhere can be considered a home without him.” Tommy turns, vitriol in his voice and heart. He walks away, leaving Techno standing among the rubble his brothers built, and he destroyed. Silently watching as Tommy’s figure grows smaller, reminding him of all the years of childhood play fights, scraped knees, and laughter. Something deep in his heart tells him this wound can’t be fixed with a bandage.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed :] 
> 
> i feel like it's semi-important to note that i . was not a viewer when the pogtopia arc happened so. apologies if it's off o7
> 
> twt is @ scrambledreg as always!!!


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